I’ve listed some vintage photographs recently. There is nothing like a good clear black and white photo to give a clear picture of what a scene looked like in years past. So I wondered what types of photos were more collectible than others.

So, I thought I’d do a terapeak search to see what categories of vintage photographs sold the best over the last 3 months on eBay. I’ve reproduced the results below.

Categories	Total Listings	Average End Price	Sell-Through
Photographic Images	5,666	$17.23	28.22%
Transportation	286	$11.10	38.46%
Historical Memoribilia	261	$18.68	17.62%
Militaria	236	$16.91	30.08%
Postcards	189	$8.69	27.51%
Autographs	97	$55.58	14.43%
Paper	62	$12.04	53.23%
Souvenirs & Travel	59	$6.98	5.08%
Cultures & Ethnicities	35	$16.57	34.29%
Advertising	26	$8.99	23.08%

So if I’m reading these results right, photos that have transportation (trains,boats,planes,cars) as subjects are most sought after, followed by historic photos, and then military photos. Real photo postcards, autographed by the photographer photos and ephemera are collectible in their own right. As are souvenir photos,photos of ethnic groups and advertising photos.

A few weeks back I sold my first QSL card. I had to google them to find out what they were and how they were used, so I thought it might be helpful to share a bit of the information that I found.

According to Wikipedia, QSL cards are exchanged between amateur radio operators “to confirm two-way radio contact between stations. Each card contains details about one or more contacts, the station and its operator. At a minimum, this includes the call sign of both stations participating in the contact, the time and date when it occurred (usually specified in UTC), the radio frequency or Band used, the mode of transmission used, and a signal report. One national association of amateur radio operators, the IARU Region #2, recommends a size of 3½ by 5½ inches (89 mm by 140 mm).”

QSL cards are mostly collected by other ham radio operators. Although they look like a postcard, a QSL is really a ham radio operator’s calling card and are frequently an expression of individual creativity. They are frequently created with individual pride and reflect the sender’s personality or profession. Consequently, the collecting of QSL cards of especially interesting designs has become an add-on hobby to the simple gathering of printed documentation of a ham’s communications over the course of his or her radio career.

Here’s a link to a video of an especially interesing collector
Martin Luther,Australia's King of QSL Cards

I recently listed a vintage sheet with Joan Walsh Anglund images. And I’ve sold a number of the early Hallmark Keepsake ornaments which feature her images. I wondered if I could find a bit more about her. To my surprise, I found that she is known more as a children’s author than as an artist.

Born in 1926, she has sold more than 45 million books, is best known for writing on the themes of love, spirituality and friendship. She has written and illustrated more than 95 books. You can find some lists of her most popular books in the links below. Her publishing success began with her first book “A Friend is Someone Who Likes You” in 1958. Her round faced mouthless characters have a sweet quality that has made them popular images featured on figurines, hand-made plaques, notecards, cross stitch patterns and ornaments.

Featured Links:

• Andrews McMeel Publisher Biography
• Loganberry Books Biography
• Childrens Literature Network Biography

This week I listed a Kenner Star Wars Buddy plush figurine that I found at a thrift shop. Star Wars was a hugely popular movie series (6 films in all) starting in 1977 and ending in 2005. It has been followed by a popular series of novels,comic books,animated TV series,video games,trading cards,board games and Disneyland attractions. And there is an active collectibles market centering around the films.

Currently the search term “Star Wars” is number six on the list of most used search terms on eBay. I wondered what kinds of Star Wars items are being listed and what they’re selling for. So I did a search on Terapeak to get a general idea of what kinds and how many listings have been made for the last 3 months.

Listing Category	Number of Listings	Average sell price	Percent of Listings Sold
Science Fiction	55,290	$42.95	31.50%
Trading Cards	26,697	$25.90	46.87%
Comics	23,230	$13.81	31.41%
Disneyana	9,982	$25.48	59.20%
Decorative Collectibles	5,998	$17.08	26.26%
Pez, Keychains,…	3,198	$7.39	29.46%
Pinbacks, Bobbles,…	2,002	$14.69	34.02%
Advertising	1,692	$12.96	27.25%
Historical…	1,428	$5.58	13.38%
Animation Art &…	1,233	$20.85	41.77%

Granny Square Lap Robe

Whether you like the monochromatic repeating versions, or the wild riot of color of multicolored squares, the granny square afghan is limited only by the maker’s imagination and stash of scrap yarn.

It is my experience of selling vintage granny square afghans that got me started on this post. You see, every single granny square afghan I’ve ever sold got shipped to a collector in Japan. So I decided to do a web search for collectors of granny square afghans.

I got no satisfaction as to why granny squares fascinate Japanese buyers, but I did get a whole bunch of other questions answered. So I thought I’d list the questions and the best sites I found that answer each question.

Does anyone collect granny square afghans?

• RetroRenovation blogs about collectors of granny square afghans
• Postcardy blogs about her personal collection.
• Artfire shares an afghan she recently made for an etsy customer

If I want to do it myself, how do I repair my granny square afghan?

• A discusson on the Better Homes and Gardens website pretty thoroughly covers this topic.

I was surprised to find that many people make granny squares for charity

• Heart Made Blessings  appeals for granny squares
• Bev’s Country Cottage lists many projects across the US

What can you do with granny squares? Besides making afghans, that is.

• This article gives 10 items that are made with granny squares.



OK, so are there online tutorials on how to make granny squares? 

Turns out there are lots, but here are 3 of the best.

• Knitting-n-crochet.com
• Craftstylish.com
• CrochetCabana.com

I recently listed an Ericofon on eBay and decided to do some online research on this uniquely designed telephone.  It is a design classic designed by L M Ericsson Company of Sweden in the 1940s and was first produced in 1954 and discontinued in 1972.

The first phones were produced for institutional use in hospitals.  They were used at patient bedsides as they could be lifted by the patient to the bed easily.  Imagine what it would have been like to reach or lift one of the heavy rotary phone handsets.  They were first sold for home use in 1956 in the European and Australian markets.  Ma Bell in America, resisted the Ericofon and as they had the monopoly and owned the phones, the introduction of the Ericofon to the American market was delayed.

Initially, the Ericofon was offered in 18 colors  in the North American market, selling  through North Electric (a telephone builder in Ohio), in which Ericcson had part ownership. When home sales of the Ericofon began to explode in the American market (sales exceeding capacity by 500%), Ericsson increased their holdings in North Electric to become the principal shareholder. Then around 1961 they transferred manufacture of the Ericofon for the American market to North Electric. At this time, North Electric narrowed the offering of colors from 18 to 8.

Popular among collectors, the Ericofon was produced in both rotary, dialless, and touch tone designs.

Source: Ericofon.com

Hint: Click on links for more information!

They’re too cute to throw away, but too small to use for plants or they don’t have a drainage hole. So what can you do with a collection of vintage planters?

Here are some ideas from Martha Stewart and ebay user bloomingale54:

• business card holder
• pen and pencil holder
• paint brush holder
• fill with candy or small gifts and wrap with clear wrap for a lovely and quick gift
• use in the bathroom to hold hair clips, guest soaps,seashells or marbles
• use in the bedroom as a tray to hold change, keys or other contents of your pockets
• use to hold jewelry
• on your tea tray to hold sugar lumps, napkins,tea bags or cups
• at the kitchen sink to hold scrubbers, dish and hand soap, or bottle and vegetable brushes
• at your desk to hold paper and binder clips, pens and pencils, notepaper, and even the stapler and hole punch

To clean these beauties, always hand wash using a gentle scrubber and a product like Bon Ami to remove mineral deposits and water stains. Use a steel scrubber very gently to remove the most stubborn stains.

Hint: Click on the links for more information!

You find them in stacks of old postcards everywhere–the motel/hotel postcard. They were usually given away free to overnight guests and were a great way for the innkeeper to advertise. But today they are a history of the great motels and hotels of the past. American families used to take gas guzzling road trips for vacations—gasp! And stayed in family friendly motels on the way. So contained in many family collections are the postcards picked up on the way.

Today these remnants of a day gone by are snapped up by postcard collectors specializing in motels and hotels. Collector Andrew Wood says “While I collect linen motel postcards, even that focus allows a number of specializations. On a given day, I’ll point out my sub-collection of Wigwam Villages, Alamo Plazas, sombrero-themed motel postcards, or art deco-streamline modern motels.”

 Here are some recommended reference books for motel postcard collectors:

Gas,Food & Lodging: A Postcard Odyssey through the Great American Roadside	Home Away From Home:Motels in America	The Motel in America

Hint: click on photos and links for more information!

On Sunday, I’m listing a bunch of vintage kitchen utensils so I thought I’d share a few thoughts about collecting these little bits of history.

Who doesn’t feel nostalgic when you see a kitchen utensil that you remember your mother or grandmother using in her kitchen?  I certainly do and I think that this is the basis of the appeal of these wonderful collectibles.  Add in the factor of the emotionality of remembering the products of the kitchen shared with family and friends at the dinner table, and you’ve got a highly popular collectible.

Some collectors buy whatever is unusual or interesting.  But since these items were made to be durable, there are lots of them still around.  So many collectors specialize.  Green and red handled tools appear to be highly sought after, as are cookie cutters, trivets, ice cream scoops, flour sifters, openers, and eggbeaters. Other collectors concentrate on manufacturers like Ekco, Foley, or Gilchrist, or magazine ads, booklets, and/or packaging. And, of course, there are always the collectors of Bakelite.  It seems a premium is paid for any tool whose handle is made of Bakelite.  Get your favorite bakelite testing method ready for these.  Collectors want to know that it is really bakelite.

I’ve incorporated links to recommended collector guide books throughout this post, so click away for more information.

The Most Highly Recommended: 

  The Postcard Price Guide by J.L. Marshburn. Even if you just pick up a card here and there, this reference guide will give you an idea of what to look for in the way of rarities so you can keep an eye out for bargains. It’s also lots of fun to page through just to look at the photos, and offers a good historical perspective as well.
 

Highly Recommended:

• Picture Postcards in the United States 1893-1918  by Dorothy Ryan 
• The Artist-Signed Postcard Price Guide- A Comprehensive Reference
  by J. L. Mashburn
  
•  Postcard Companion: The Collector’s Reference by Jack.H. Smith
• The Encyclopedia of Antique Postcards/Price Guide (Wallace-Homestead Price Guide) by Susan Brown Nicholson
• Standard postcard catalog;: A price guide for postcard collectors, by James Lewis Lowe
• The Collector’s Guide to Postcards by Jane Wood
  

Recommended:

• Fantasy Postcards With Price Guide, A Comprehensive Reference by J.L.Mashburn
  
• Vintage Postcards for the Holidays- Identification & Value Guide
  by Robert Reed, Claudette Reed
  
• The American Postcard Guide to Tuck by Sally Carver
• Postmarked Yesteryear- Art of the Holiday Postcard  by Pamela E. Apkarian-Russell